Of the many technical and educational resources, public awareness activities, and networking opportunities produced by NACE International, our annual conference is one of the top reasons so many corrosion professionals thrive in their careers. By taking advantage of the technical program, committee meetings, seminars and lectures, networking venues, and the largest corrosion exhibition in the world, attendees bring the latest corrosion knowledge back to their workplace.

Keep in mind, however, that attendees aren’t the only ones who can benefit from the excellent programming offered at annual conference. As you make your plans for CORROSION 2012, please consider the types of information you can obtain and share with your management and fellow employees upon your return. Many of you work with managers and peers who do not have corrosion knowledge, yet they impact those decisions at your company. I believe we can do a better job of making these key people highly aware of the benefits of good corrosion control programs on public safety, the environment, asset performance, and the company’s bottom line.

I also encourage you share your professionalism and expertise not only with those you work with, but with the up and coming corrosion work force that will take our efforts to new levels in the future. CORROSION 2012 will welcome university students and others new to the field from around the world who are embarking on exciting careers in corrosion control.

Please spend time with them in the role of a professional mentor at the Student Poster Session
and the many networking events described in this program. This advance program is loaded with descriptions of all the activities offered at CORROSION 2012, but I would like to highlight two new ones here. For reasons stated above, I am pleased to see this forum in the program: “We Never Get Corrosion Problems in our Company.” Using specific examples, this forum will offer ideas for improving general corrosion awareness to a broad spectrum of industry. Another special forum held for this first time is the 2012 NACE/ACCE China Forum, where Chinese corrosion experts will share technical presentations and activities. It will be presented in both English and Chinese and is open to all CORROSION 2012 registrants.

Of course, it wouldn’t be the NACE annual conference without plenty of fun opportunities to spend time with friends old and new, including Sunday’s Opening Reception, the NACE Foundation’s “Soul Train…Disco at the Depot” Tuesday evening event, the return of the Wednesday evening happy hour, and the Wednesday night Awards Dinner.

I hope you are excited about all you will learn and experience at CORROSION 2012 in Salt Lake City, Utah, next March. I know I am, and I look forward to seeing you there.